UNITED KINGDOM – CIRCA 2006: A stamp printed in Great Britain dedicated to the national portrait gallery shows William Shakespeare attributed to John Taylor circa 2006

You may want to groan when you hear the name “Shakespeare.” After all, for decades stuffy English teachers have been forcing students to read plays by Shakespeare, plays that seem difficult to understand and that appear to have little connection to our own lives.

But William Shakespeare is probably the most influential writer in English. Not only are his plays and poems important literature, but Shakespeare also affected the English language more than anyone else. Many of our everyday expressions, like “it’s all Greek to me” and being “tongue-tied” and suffering “green-eyed jealousy,” all come from Shakespeare.

As famous as he is, however, it’s unlikely that Shakespeare thought of himself as creating anything extraordinarily literary. Of course, it’s clear that he loved language and writing, but Shakespeare was basically writing to pay the bills. He’s the equivalent of the contemporary best-selling popular writer Stephen King, writing for all of society, not a select literary few.

In fact, Shakespeare and Stephen King are much more alike than you might think. If you want to learn more about the connections between Shakespeare and King, pick up “Teen History Mashups: Shakespeare to King.”

As the person responsible for transforming auto production, Henry Ford was connected to the auto industry from early on. Many people don’t realize that he used his connections to solidify his status as the founder of Ford Motor Company and beyond.

He worked extensively with inventor and botanist George Washington Carver to develop rubber for tires. They also were both big believers in biofuel and decades later we’re starting to use those ideas. Another idea they both partnered on was creating soybean-based plastic parts for cars, which were actually used for a number of years.

Ford also became friends with well-known race car drivers. One of them, Barney Oldfield, rode a gas-powered bicycle in a race, which quickly grabbed Ford’s attention. Ford was also building race cars that helped him to increase his connections in that world. Because of the friendship they developed and maintained, Ford’s connection to Oldfield was significant in paving the path to the creation of Ford Motor Company.

If you think about it, cars were actually a luxury at that time. They weren’t thought of as a method of transportation as we think of them now. Most people couldn’t afford them and it wasn’t easy for Ford to generate sales. But he knew that if he could show off a car’s capabilities at a race, it would help make his job easier.

It was his friendship with Oldfield that helped make this a possibility. Once Oldfield learned how to drive Ford’s creation, he was finding himself ahead at the very first race. It was after that race that the Ford Motor Company was started and it was boosted by the attention that race generated. Without that connection, it’s likely the company would have taken much longer to get off the ground.

Henry Ford continued to use his connections to benefit his business efforts and make a name for himself throughout his life. Connections like Charles Lindbergh and President Woodrow Wilson reflect how his connections grew and changed as his career progressed.

The important thing to remember here is in how he used those connections. Every one of them was important to building his business and it paid off. People may change over time but it’s through their connections that they can learn, grow, and succeed.

It’s hard for any of us to imagine a life without sight or sound. It’s even more difficult to imagine being without both but that’s exactly what Helen Keller dealt with from time she was 19 months old.

In spite of her disabilities, she learned how to communicate and read and write and became famous for her successful efforts. It was this success that drew a variety of people to her. They all wanted to know her and the list consisted of people like Alexander Graham Bell, Anne Sullivan, General Robert E. Lee, and the actor Charlie Chaplin.

Keller was actually connected to General Robert E. Lee as he was a distant relative of her family. Many people don’t realize that Alexander Graham Bell’s wife was deaf. It was because of this that he spent his life working on inventions to help people hear. Those efforts were what connected him and Keller. This was during a time when this type of work was thought of as a fool’s errand. Keller actually was grateful for his work and ended up dedicating her autobiography to him.

One of her most important connections was her tutor, governess and companion, Anne Sullivan. She was able to help Keller communicate in spite of her disabilities. They built their friendship over 50 years of working together and spent most of their time together.

Helen Keller’s success also grabbed the attention of several presidents from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson. She also gained respect from the author Mark Twain who valued her so much that he found a man rich enough to pay for her education.

It was through her connections and her persistence as an advocate for people with disabilities that led her to become a world-famous author and speaker. She faced much criticism for her political views but still overcame opposition from others to make a name for herself and what she stood for.

Regardless of your situation, you can always make powerful connections throughout your life. If you look at people throughout history, you can see how they reached out and helped each other to achieve their success. It’s a proven method to get ahead and make a difference no matter what time period you live in.

You’re likely familiar with the famous author who wrote classic books like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Even though Mark Twain was actually Samuel Clemens, under his pen name he became one of the most influential writers and critics of his era.

As he became a well-known figure, he was able to introduce many impressive people into his network. He was known to be associated with numerous historical figures including Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Helen Keller, and Andrew Carnegie.

Twain’s interest in science connected him to Edison and eventually Edison’s protégé, Tesla. Through one of his associates, he was also introduced to Helen Keller. In his autobiography, he documented his first meeting with her and the impression it made on him. Twain also met his future wife through her brother who was in the author’s network. The pair’s first date involved attending a reading by legendary author Charles Dickens.

Overall, Twain was connected to a wide variety of famous people throughout his life and career. His network consisted of people he looked out for and in turn looked out for him. Whether it was by increasing his personal connections like his wife or for financial or business reasons, Twain’s network was filled with people who were of great interest to him.

Of course, Twain’s interest in people fueled his curiosity and helped him to breathe life into the character’s in his works. He was known to seek out others by arranging a meeting with them or introducing himself at social engagements. As a writer’s life can be isolated at times, it was likely important for him to connect with others when the opportunity presented itself.

It’s also important to note that Twain’s wife was instrumental in helping him build his network. Her connections brought him into the world of women’s suffrage, civil rights, and abolitionist movements.

So what can you learn from Mark Twain and how he built his network?

By connecting yourself with people who share interests with you, who are seeking the same line of work you are, or who are involved within your community, you can easily connect to those who can make a difference in your life. Whether the individual provides you with guidance or advice or they know of someone who can, staying in touch with and building your network can enhance your life goals and career aspirations.

Your personal network includes your friends, relatives, neighbors, and the people at your work or school. The more those people connect to others, the more people you’re connected with.

That’s where the term six degrees of separation comes into play.

The idea is that you are connected to anyone else in the world through your network within six or less steps. For example, did you know that pop icon Michael Jackson is six degrees of separation from steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie?

How can this be when these men weren’t alive in the same time period? It all has to do with their connections. It also means that you are also connected to some powerful individuals as well.

And that’s exactly what networking is all about. It is designed to connect you with people that you can learn from to help you succeed. Studies have shown that when experiments were held to determine just how connected people are, most of those connections included one specific person.

You may have heard of the popular game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” It’s where you try to connect any other actor or actress to the actor Kevin Bacon by linking them according to the co-stars they’ve had in the movies they’ve acted in. You can even do it with some of your favorite actors or actresses and pair them up according to their co-stars. It’s a fun game to try!

It’s also important to remember that when these studies were conducted, social media wasn’t even invented. So when you think of the people you connect with online on a regular basis, you’re only adding to your network of connections.

As you continue to make new friends and meet people, you increase your chances to connect with other individuals not only in your community but in the entire world. You never know, who you meet may end up being connected to someone that makes a significant difference in your life or theirs.